|
"I haven't really tried doing clothes just for ramp
appeal for I can't afford it", Nahid Merchant
 "
I hadn't really decided that I wanted to be a fashion designer "
says Nahid Merchant a fashion designer in her own right in this
highly competitive and cut throat fashion industry of Mumbai. With
no formal training, surviving in this industry is a mean task where
hype and marketing is the key to success. Unlike people who leave
no stones unturned in trying to promote themselves, Nahid is one
of the few low profile designers consistently doing quality work.
She will not feed you with any of the usual fashion fundas which
most of her brethren love indulge in. A mother first and then a
career woman, she begins work at ten in the morning and calls it
a day by five in the evening
 After
completing graduation in fine arts from the J J School of Arts together
with a friend, Nahid decided to do clothes which she honestly admits
"always fascinated me". Their first exhibition
at Alankar was a complete soldout. "Even though my friend
took off to the US after getting married, I decided to give designing
a shot. And the initiative did not prove to be futile for very soon
I was exporting garments to many a countries. After a series of
exhibitions, orders started flowing in from places such as USA,
South Africa and Kuwait." But then doing the same thing
could be quiet boring for she started doing high fashion clothes.
"Even though I lacked the necessary background in fashion
when I embarked on this career, I  realized
that I had to learn it myself. So gradually I started watching shows
and designed clothes accordingly." And life was never the
same when Sangita Kathiawada, owner of Melange saw her clothes which
was an abstract collection on sheer fabrics which took her fancy
and decided to retail it at the prestigious Melange Boutique.
"They sold instantly" said Nahid with pride
in her eyes. And over the years the bond has got stronger.
Nahid's clothes cannot be described as haute couture. She is not
part of the big league for her collections are very much practical
and come of standard sizes which fortunately do very well as there
is a major market for it. Very honestly she states "I haven't
really tried doing clothes just for ramp appeal for I can't afford
it. It is not possible for me to come out with two collections simultaneously."
Working from her studio at Kemps Corner, she has no plans of opening
a designer store for "it is too much of a headache."
 Her
collections are quiet extensive and one cannot really slot her into
a particular category for she designs clothes keeping every section
of people in mind. Her fusion wear is meant for the urban working
Indian women who are willing to experiment but not daring to be
bold. The Indo - western range is mostly semiformal. She tends to
move away from the traditional embroidery towards the more contemporary
look for "there seems to be have been an overdose of embroidery
in the market." Use of wooden beads and crystals is quiet
extensive in her collection. "The use of colors is mostly
according to the season even though I prefer using soft colors,
if you see my summer collection there is only soft and earth colors.
But dark colors are not totally a no - no for I had come out with
a line in deep red, deep purple, and burgundy." Some of
her works are inspired by the paintings of Paul Klee and Mark Rethko.
 Describing
her clothes as "stylish and contemporary", she
feels that not having shows have not really affected her sales as
"my garments are good, well priced and wearable. When people
keep coming back to you you feel good about it and that is where
my satisfaction lies." Speaking on the the industry she
feels that excessive aping of the west has resulted in its present
stagnation. "People are blindly copying what is happening
in the west which is no way relevant for our country. India is an
emerging market and is in its nascent stage so there is no point
talking big rightaway" adds Nahid. Hopefully some
designers will wake up to the realities and work accordingly and
thereby proceed in their path of establishing India as a major fashion
stop.
Her clothes are available at Melange, Ensemble and Mystique in
Mumbai, Sosas in Goa, Ensemble in Delhi, Clake in Hyderabad, Allure
in Ahmedabad and Zenon in Calcutta. Her garments are priced between
Rs 3,000 to 20,000.
Address:
Nahid Merchant,
Room No.8 Jadhav Bhavan,
# 62/B, August Kranti Marg,
Ground Floor, Gowalia Tank,
Mumbai 400 036.
Phone: (Studio) - 384 0745 / 307 4456
(Res) - 307 4456
Mobile: 98200 51840
By: Sharmistha
Chatterjee
| |
|
|
 |  |
|
